


What My Hands and My Body Done

by goloosepidge (dauntperplexity)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Post 7.13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 17:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16223636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dauntperplexity/pseuds/goloosepidge
Summary: Keith hated that Shiro had to be the face of this war.All he wanted was for Shiro to finally rest.Out of everyone, he deserved it the most.But he was the only one who seemed like he wasn't able to get any.





	What My Hands and My Body Done

**Author's Note:**

> I just really, really want the two fo them to finally get some rest. At least before season 8.

When Keith woke up again it was dark. Not like the lights had been turned down and the curtains were closed, but because it was night. He looked over to where his mom had been sitting when he had fallen asleep and saw that she wasn't there. It didn't scare him as it would have years ago.

He did feel another person in the room. He looked over and saw him, standing and looking out the window. Unmoving.

"Shiro?" he said softly, not wanting to startle him if he was deep in thought. He waited for him to say something.

"The stars look so different now," Shiro replied after a few moments of silence. He kept staring out the window for another minute before turning around to face him. He smiled softly. "It's good to see you awake." He took a few steps to cover the distance from the window to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Keith raised his hand that had a needle pushed into it and some tube leading out of it and into a bag hanging near where Shiro was standing. "I'm good," he said with a laugh. He dropped his hand and kept his eyes trained on Shiro. He reached over to fiddle with the knob to brighten up the room just a bit.

He needed to see Shiro’s face. And he saw that Shiro looked exactly how he expected him to.

Up close, Keith could see just how tired Shiro was.

He heard it in the speech he had given to the entire world. It was a great speech, tinged with sadness, but full of hope. Shiro was the perfect person to give it.

But, now, Shiro deserved to sleep for a year or two.

Keith was going to be the one to help him get it.

"Have you slept?" he asked, even though he was sure he knew the answer.

"A little," Shiro said. It was the truth. He did get some sleep. Somewhere between meetings and volunteering to help with cleanup, he'd found some time to eat and shut his eyes.

"Shiro," Keith said with a sigh.

Shiro had to smile. Of course, Keith would call him on his obvious lie. "Between meeting with world leaders, and giving speeches on international tv, and overseeing the reunion of families, and trying to figure out how we're going to rebuild everything that's been destroyed, I've had a few hours."

Keith smirked. There was the truth after the sarcasm. "But not enough."

Shiro shrugged. "Probably not," he said. "There's still a lot to do."

"But it's not your responsibility to take care of all of it. You're one man.”

"Partial Altean," Shiro said, holding up his new arm. He put his hand down and rested it on the guardrail on the bed. "Enough about me. How are you? Are you giving the doctors a hard time?"

"I'm probably in the safest place in the entire galaxy, right now," Keith said. He grabbed his remote and adjusted the bed so he was more in a sitting position. "And we're not going to stop talking about you," he said. "You're out there, having to answer for this war all on your own."

"But it has to be me," Shiro said.

"Why?" Keith asked. "Why just you? Why couldn't you have waited for any one of us to recover?” Apparently, Shiro was determined to imitate the namesake of the ship he was captain of and take the entire world on his shoulders.

“The world and the universe were coming together to celebrate the defeat of the Galra. Someone had to be there to represent the team.”

“They could’ve done things without you for a few days.”

Shiro gripped the rail and sighed. “Keith.”

Keith could feel it in the way Shiro said his name. He knew exactly what this was about. ”It’s not your fault. You didn't bring the Galra here.” He was tempted to reach over and squeeze Shiro’s hand to reassure him. “If anything you could blame my mom for that."

"She is the one that kept them away from us as long as she could," Shiro said. "I... I led them here. It was my... connection to Sendak that led him here."

Keith tensed at the mention of Sendak. He knew that the Galra Commander was a sore spot for Shiro. He was someone that could have continued to haunt Shiro for the rest of his life. "He's gone now."

"I know," Shiro said, his voice filled with relief. He stepped back and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. ”But that doesn't erase the four-year reign of terror he had on this entire planet."

"No, it doesn't. But, like I said, it wasn't all on you. Don't blame yourself for things Sendak did. It'll only make your head hurt."

Shiro let out a short laugh and dropped his hand. "Speaking of head hurting, yours doing okay?”

Keith would've rolled his eyes if he were sure that the action wouldn't make him feel nauseous. "I'm not going to call you on your obvious subject change," he said. "But, I feel okay. I want to get out of here. I want to help." He hated that Shiro was the only one that could actually do anything.

He hated that Shiro had to be the face of this war.

All he wanted was for Shiro to finally rest.

Out of everyone, he deserved it the most.

But he was the only one who seemed like he wasn't able to get any.

"You'll be out of here soon enough," Shiro said. From what Krolia told him, his stay was mostly for observation. It was necessary after he had been unconscious for a few days. That really scared him.

Keith wasn't sure he could handle a few more days in this bed. There was one thing he was sure of: Shiro could not keep going at the pace he was for that long. He would burn out before Keith checked out of the hospital. "What's your schedule like tomorrow?" he asked as he scooted over to one side of his bed.

"I'm not sure," Shiro replied. "I just go wherever they need me. I'll probably go to a cleanup. And then have to talk to the Voltron Alliance members that arrived today. I thought I'd be able to do that today, but I just didn't have time." He sighed and ran his hand down his face. "A few more world leaders are arriving at about one o'clock tomorrow, so I have to be there for that. And then—"

"Shiro," Keith said, interrupting him as gently as he could. He gestured to the empty space next to him on the bed. "Come lie down."

Shiro's eyes doubled in size and his mouth dropped open. "Wh-what? I couldn’t…”

This time, Keith rolled his eyes. He was grateful that it didn't make him want to throw up. "You look dead on your feet," he said. "It might be a tight fit, but I think it’ll work.” He stared at Shiro, hoping that he would take him up on his offer.

Shiro took a step forward. Then another. He lowered the rail on the bed and sat on the edge of it. Then, he stopped moving. “I really should just head back to my quarters. You need your rest. I’m sure once you’re out of here, everyone will be turning their attention to you.”

“I’m a nobody.”

“You’re the Black Paladin.”

“I’m not the one who flew to Kerberos, survived a gladiator ring, became the Black Paladin, died, came back to life, and then piloted Atlas as this huge robot and saved Earth.”

“Keith.”

Sometimes Shiro could be so frustrating, even if Keith understood his reasoning for it. “You can’t ignore all the good you did just because you feel guilty.”

“I don’t think you’ll let me.” Shiro looked at Keith and saw a smile on his face. It told him that Keith was going to do everything that he could to try and lessen the guilt he felt. He hoped Keith was patient enough because it would take some time. “Keith. I…” Before he could rest, he had to get a few things off of his chest. “I have to apologize.”

“For what?”

“Just. Everything that happened after I came back.”

“From the dead?”

“No,” Shiro said, though he could have talked about the tension he felt between them after the fight they had at the clone facility. That was probably for another day. “Not me. I mean, me. But.”

“You mean your clone.”

Shiro nodded once. “I remember the way he treated you.”

“It wasn't that big of a deal.”

“It was," Shiro said, not willing to let Keith brush it aside. "The last thing I'd ever want to do is make you doubt yourself. And he... I... did that."

"It's not as bad as you're making it sound, Shiro.” At the time, it was bad. It hurt. But, looking back on it now, Keith would never hold that against him.

"You know that I'd never... I never wanted you to leave. I never thought it was a bad thing that you had your mission, and you wanted to make sure that you completed it."

"I know. Please. Don't feel bad."

"You were gone for so long. And I worried. And I wanted you to be with... the team. I just didn't know how to tell you that."

This time, Keith reached over and put his hand on Shiro’s. They hadn’t really had the chance to talk after his essence was put into the clone’s body. All of this had to be building inside him. He gave Shiro’s hand a squeeze. "If you need to me to tell you, and him, that it's okay, if he is still there and can hear this then let him know that I forgive him. Even if it's not necessary.”

“Thank you,” he said with a tired sigh.

“Now. Lie down.”

Shiro let out a laugh. He finally moved and rested his head on one of the pillows. He moved around to settle on the bed, making sure to give Keith as much space as he could. “Is this okay?”

Keith turned his body to look at Shiro. He could see worry painted across his face. He would’ve given anything to give Shiro just one moment of relaxation. “Shiro,” he said fondly. “You may or may not believe me, but, everything is going to be okay.”

“How do you know?”

“I saw the future,” he said simply.

“You did?” he asked, incredulous, but willing to indulge Keith.

“Well, some of it.” He probably saw a hundred glimpses of the past and future. There were about a dozen he remembered so vividly even if they were years in the past or the future.

“What did you see?”

“You. Mostly.” The ones that he replayed over and over again all involved Shiro.

“And you knew I'd be okay?”

“Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“I saw glimpses.” That was one of the more frustrating parts about the visions. They weren’t long enough to tell him much, but just long enough to make him worry. “Like, the beginning of our fight at the clone facility.” Keith saw Shiro’s entire body tense. He waited.

A few minutes passed before Shiro was able to push past the memory of that fight. “What else?”

“I saw you lying on another table, surrounded by doctors. Your heart stopped.”

“My arm?”

“I think so,” he said. “I didn't realize that was what it was at the time.” He was sure Shiro had enough of waking up on a table, surrounded by doctors or medics.

“What else?”

“You fighting Sendak.”

“Is that how you knew to come and save me?”

“I already told you I’d come and save you as many times as it takes.”

“You did.”

“It may not seem like much, but I know what I saw. And I know that there are a lot of holes, but I’m sure that you'll be okay and that we'll make it through this.”

“You can't know that.”

“Yes, I can. Because even if the visions showed me you weren’t okay, I knew I was gonna fight to make sure that you were. I want to make sure you never have to fight in another war for as long as you live.”

“You'd take on all of that for me?”

“Without hesitation.”

Shiro wondered exactly what he’d done to deserve this kind of loyalty from someone. “Thank you, Keith.”

“You don't need to thank me.”

“I think I do," Shiro said. "I know you probably don't want to keep score, but I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you. You brought meback from the dead. You saved my life.”

“You're right. I'm not keeping score. Because, if I were, I'd never catch up.” He looked into Shiro’s eyes to make sure Shiro knew what he had done. “You took a chance on me, Shiro. When no one else would. You gave me a sense of what I could be. Without you, I never would've gone on the biggest adventure of my life."

“Keith.”

“If you want to make it up to me, all I ask is you rest. There is only so much I can save you from. Exhaustion isn't one of them."

"Okay," Shiro said. "I think I can do that. Are you sure you don't mind sharing this bed?"

"Yes," Keith said. "If it means that you get all the rest you need. That you deserve. So, no more talking. Get comfortable, because you're going to get a full eight hours, even if I have to barricade us in this room."

“You’d really do that?”

“I’d try.” His healing body probably wouldn’t let him get too far with that. “I do have a dog that could teleport people out of here if I wanted him to.”

Shiro laugh. “What a good dog,” he said, feeling his body relax into the mattress under him. His body needed the rest. He had been trying to avoid the exhaustion for so long, but being in bed, with Keith, and no impending threat was enough to put his mind at ease. He brought his hand up to cover his yawn. He couldn’t deny that he was tired now. He felt his eyelids get heavy as they drifted shut. “Will you wake me if anyone needs me?”

“No,” Keith replied. “There is no one in the universe who will need you more than you need to rest.”

“What about y—”

“Stop worrying about me. I’ll sleep when mom gets back.” He reached over and brushed the tuft of hair on the front of Shiro’s face out of his eyes. “Now, shut your eyes and your mouth and get some sleep.”

Shiro smiled at the touch. And the order. He fell asleep feeling safer than he had felt in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at goloosepidge.


End file.
